


Office Hours

by WorryinglyInnocent



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, Cameo Appearance by Ariel, College AU, Community College, F/M, professor/mature student, relationship beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 21:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14317599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: Community college professor Belle French has realised she’s in love with mature student Cameron Gold, despite, or perhaps because of, his innate capacity to annoy her.Written for the @a-monthly-rumbelling prompt: “You’re the most annoying person I know but I think I’m in love with you anyway.”





	Office Hours

“You’re the most annoying person I know but I think I’m in love with you anyway.”

Belle realised that this statement would have had more weight if she’d said it to the person it was actually directed at, rather than a piece of paper containing a brilliantly written essay on the portrayal of women in Shakespeare’s  _Macbeth_ , but since she had only just admitted her feelings to herself, she wasn’t quite ready to reveal them to their object yet.

She graded the essay and set it on the side, the last in the pile, and she stretched her arms above her head, rolling her neck to get rid of the cricks in it. She always saved Cameron’s essays till last, because she knew that she was guaranteed to get something that was well-written and entertaining as well as informative.

“Thanks,” said Ariel dryly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Belle whirled around in her seat. She hadn’t heard her office mate come in and now felt the blush rising in her cheeks.

“I, erm…”

“I know.” Ariel grinned. “You weren’t talking to me, you were talking to the spirit of Cameron Gold. But that’s ok. I love you too.” She paused. “You can’t possibly be comfortable sitting like that.”

Belle looked down at her crossed legs and shrugged. “It works for me. I like to be relaxed when I’m grading papers. It helps me to take in what the students are actually saying.”

“Whatever you say, Belle. And what does Cameron have to say for himself this week then?”

Belle sighed, and swung her chair around again so that she didn’t have to look at Ariel’s mischievous expression. Cameron Gold was without a doubt Belle’s favourite student at Storybrooke Community College. It probably had something to do with the fact that he was a mature student and therefore had a slightly more mature personality than some of the other students who passed through her teaching.

Over the few months that he had been studying for his diploma, Belle had found out that since his son had got his degree and settled down with his fiancée and a baby on the way, Cameron had decided that the time was right for him to go back to school and finally get a diploma. Perhaps the knowledge that he would soon be a grandfather had made him want to get his act in gear and experience a new lease of life.

Cameron was always ready to argue, and as much as it infuriated her at times, Belle was usually glad of his contributions to class discussions. She believed that his antagonism stemmed from insecurity, and a need to prove himself in front of his younger peers. He was a successful man, there could be no denying that; his pawnshop and antiques valuation business were doing well and Belle knew that he owned quite a bit of property in the town, but somehow in his mind that couldn’t make up for the fact he’d left school at eighteen and never sought higher education until now.

She glanced again at her pile of essays, and then at the clock, a little smile creeping over her face when she realised what time it was. It was almost time for her open office hours, and that meant that she would be seeing Cameron soon.

“You know, you could just tell him how you feel, rather than just telling it to his essays,” Ariel pointed out. “I know that they’re very clever essays but I don’t think that they’ve reached the level of sentience and being able to pass on messages yet.”

Belle rolled her eyes and studiously ignored Ariel’s remarks.

Cameron always came to see her on her office hours without fail, and he would usually bring doughnuts from the cafeteria as well. Their time together, even if it was just a few minutes a week, was definitely one of the highlights of Belle’s time at the college.

There was always a different side of him that came out when they were alone together. He seemed less antagonistic, although no less likely to challenge her interpretations of various books that they had both read. She wondered if he simply contradicted her in order to try and get a rise out of her, but his arguments were always meticulously crafted, and even if she didn’t agree with them, she had to admire the amount of thought he’d put in. Certainly, he could sometimes be annoying, but she wouldn’t give up his acquaintance for the world.

“Well, I’ll get out of your way,” Ariel said, grabbing her laptop and a stack of essays covered in red pen. “I’ve got to go and expound on the golden age of piracy and try to get this lot interested in Anne Bonney and Mary Read. You’d think that they’d all jump at the chance to learn about cross-dressing lesbians.”

Belle watched her leave and wedged the door open, ready for office hours. Quite how they’d ended up sharing an office when she taught English literature and Ariel taught maritime history was a mystery, but since the college was constantly undergoing funding cuts and all the staff were doubling or tripling up on office space, they needed all the spare desks they could get, regardless of faculty alignment.

Sitting back in her chair, Belle wondered. In most circumstances, a relationship between a teacher and a student was the biggest no-no in the college rulebook, but did that count when the student was older than the teacher? She knew that all these guidelines were in place to protect the weaker in the balance of power, but when it came down to it, she really wasn’t sure whether Cameron counted along those lines. He could certainly sue the college several times over and not break a sweat, if estimates of his net worth were to be believed.

She sighed. Would admitting her feelings be a good idea? It had only been recently that she had really realised just what it was she was feeling in the first place, that the fact she enjoyed their arguments so much and the fact she always looked forward to his office hour visits probably had some kind of deeper meaning. She would hate to lose the friendship that they had cultivated over the last couple of months, but at the same time, if there was the chance for it to be more than friendship, then Belle wanted to take that. She didn’t want to be tiptoeing around the situation for months when she could be spending those months in far more enjoyable pursuits.

Like actually dating Cameron Gold instead of just looking forward to their weekly office hour ‘dates’.

There was a delicate tap on the door and with impeccable timing, Cameron looked around the frame. Belle waved him inside; sure enough he had a doughnut bag in his hand and he held it out to her. Pink frosted, her favourite.

“Come in, come in, take a seat. I may as well give you your essay back now; I’ve just finished marking. It was excellent, as always. I really loved your ideas on how motherhood and childlessness are portrayed.”

“Thank you.” Cameron took the paper and folded it into his pocket.

“So, is there anything in particular that you wanted to speak to me about, or was this just a welcome social call?” Belle asked. Small talk had never been one of her strong points which was probably why they always ended up arguing about books whenever they were together.

“Just checking in,” Cameron said. “I always enjoy these little chats that we have outside of the classroom. I think that we end up getting a lot deeper into things than we do during class.”

“Yes, well, your theories and interpretations do go off the rails sometimes and I have to reel you in for everyone else’s benefit.” Belle grinned. “In here though, you can expound as much as you like. I enjoy listening to you.”

“Even when you tell me that I’m spouting a load of crap?” Cameron teased.

“Especially then. Life would be very boring if we both agreed with everything that the other said. We wouldn’t have anywhere near as much fun together, would we?”

Was this flirting? Ariel had often despaired of Belle’s romantic obliviousness in the couple of years that they had shared the office, and now she wished that she’d listened to her friend’s tips a little more closely.

“No, we definitely wouldn’t.”

There was something in his eyes, something cheeky in their dark chocolate depths, and it made Belle wonder if he was thinking the same thing that she was. That little glint was only visible when they were in her office together. Now of course, that could be put down to their being in much closer quarters in the office than they were in the classroom, but Belle knew that the passion with which he defended his arguments in class was different to the one he showed with her. Here there was excitement, rather than the defiance he showed out there.

He pulled his own chocolate glazed doughnut out of the bag and took a bite, the glaze smearing at the corner of his mouth, and Belle really wanted to reach out and swipe it away.

Good lord, she really was attracted to this man and she really had it bad.

“Are you all right, Dr French?” Cameron asked politely, his tongue darting out to clean up the glaze. “You look a bit flustered.”

Was he doing it on purpose? Where was Ariel when she was needed to interpret the situation? Belle had spent enough time reading fiction and analysing it to within an inch of its life that she could work out a situation in which the heroine was being particularly dense almost as soon as she saw it in print, but apparently in real life all her observational skills went out of the window.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she said quickly, turning the subject onto more neutral territory that they were both familiar with. They would be leaving Shakespeare and moving forward through the years to Priestly now, and Belle was eager to hear Cameron’s thoughts and let him talk for a while so that she could make sense of her own feelings.

They hadn’t always been there; it wasn’t a moment of instant attraction. It had taken time as these things always did with her. As she had got to know him, so the seed of romantic attraction had begun to blossom, until now it was here at the forefront of her mind and incredibly distracting with it.

“Well, I had probably better get going,” Cameron said eventually, once their conversation and heated debate had reached a natural stopping point. “I wouldn’t want to be taking time away from your other students who might want to borrow your expertise for a while.”

Belle nodded. All the same, she could detect a definite reluctance to leave in his voice. If she didn’t take that chance now, then she might never take it.

“You know, we don’t just have to talk during my office hours,” she said. “We can continue the conversation elsewhere, if you’d like.”

Cameron smiled. “Yes. I’d like that a lot, Dr French.”

“I think we’re at the point where you can call me Belle,” she said.

“In that case, I’d like that a lot, Belle. When and where did you have in mind?”

“Tonight over drinks in the Rabbit Hole?” The place was mainly frequented by students but the drink was cheap and relatively good quality for the price.

“It’s a date, Belle. I’ll see you there.”

He left the office then, and Belle checked that there was no-one outside in the corridor before performing a spin of victory in her chair. Taking a chance had worked.

It was a date.


End file.
